Last month, Berkadia Senior Managing Director and Head of Medical & Life Sciences, Sabrina Solomiany, traveled to London to join our partners at Knight Frank for two of their healthcare events. The global property consultancy, Knight Frank, hosted an inaugural Global Healthcare Business Line meeting as well as their 10th Annual Knight Frank Healthcare Property Lunch. The lunch hosted over 500 guests and raised more than 60,000 pounds for the nominated charities.
Sabrina represented Berkadia in a panel discussion on cross-border capital flows and investor sentiments, with perspectives from both the advisory and REIT standpoints, moderated by Henry Elphick of Mansfield Advisors. Joining Sabrina on the panel were fellow members of the Berkadia/Knight Frank Global Healthcare Council, Shehzad Jamal of Knight Frank MENA and Sam Biggins of Knight Frank Australia, as well as Justin Hutchens (CIO and EVP of Ventas, Inc.), Stefaan Gielens (CEO of Aedifica NV/SA), and Steve Nitschke (Managing Director – Head of UK/European Acquisitions for Medical Properties Trust, Inc.).
Her panel discussion and week in London left Sabrina with a few key takeaways from industry thought leaders in healthcare real estate:
- Though it is too early to be reflected in transactions and yields, a reduction in interest rates in the US, UK, and European markets has given a confidence boost to investors coming into 2025.
- All eyes are on the US commercial real estate market as the trends here are generally reflected in the UK and European markets 12-18 months later. Additionally, the US healthcare real estate market is significantly larger than that of Europe which typically has an annual transaction volume of $2.5-6 billion.
- There is significant demand from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Governments to import the expertise of healthcare operators and developers, and similarly from Middle Eastern family offices for healthcare real estate investments outbound into mature markets.
- While there is a desire by some US-based companies to invest in foreign markets, a local operating partner acting as ‘boots on the ground’ would be required to make any substantial investment.
For more information on the Berkadia/Knight Frank Global Healthcare Business line as well as investments in foreign markets and from international capital, please reach out to Sabrina Solomiany.